''Ypthima asterope'', the African ringlet or common three-ring, is a species of

Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

found in most dry areas of Africa and Asia. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 30–34 mm in males and 32–38 mm in females. Adults are on wing year round with peaks in summer and autumn in southern Africa. There is one generation per year. The larvae feed on grasses (

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

). Larvae have been reared on ''

Ehrharta erecta ''Ehrharta erecta'' is a species of grass commonly known as panic veldtgrass. The species is native to Southern Africa and Yemen. It is a documented invasive species in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, southern Europe and China. The ...

''.

Subspecies

The species may be divided into the following

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: *''Ypthima asterope asterope'' (Arabia, Turkey, northern tropical Africa) *''Ypthima asterope mahratta'' Moore, 1884 (India) *''Ypthima asterope hereroica'' van Son, 1955 (southern Africa, Namibia)

References

asterope Butterflies of Africa Butterflies of Asia Insects of the Middle East Butterflies described in 1832 Taxa named by Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug {{Satyrini-stub